


Plans for a picnic

by Jezzax_j



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 01:44:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6545425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jezzax_j/pseuds/Jezzax_j
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christine persuades Erik to leave his lair. But will something so innocent as a picnic end well?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Erik will you please just listen to me!" Christine's voice screamed across the main room of the phantoms lair. For weeks she has been trying to persuade him to leave the house and spent some time outside with her. It had been far too long since she spent a day walking outside. Most of her time was spent either with her angel, or up in Opera house. Erik would hardly let her out of his sight half the time - he was too afraid of her meeting Raoul and that fops anger getting the better of him. Erik was an obsessive man, Christine knew that first hand. But she knew he was just doing what was best for both of them. They were both afraid of what Raoul would do. Ever since Christine broke their engagement and returned to her angel Raoul has had his sight set on getting revenge on the monster who stole her away. For weeks after he had tried to find his way back to the lair where he almost lost his life. But Erik was too quick - within a few days he had already blocked off the passage Madame Giry showed him. He searched every room in the Opera house for a way back in, but to no avail. Soon he stopped and refused to visit the Opera house again. Christine never saw him in his usual box when she preformed, nor was he ever in contact with the managers. People said he turned to drink - which wasn't surprising. When Raoul was out after grand galas and for parties he would have drank so heavily alot of the time he would pass out and the staff would leave him sleeping at his table till the late afternoon.

But now that the DeChagny situation was out of the way, Christine had another problem to sort out - Erik. Erik has refused to leave his home for many years now, except to see the Operas and the occasional errand, but these were always in the dead of night. His face had him prone to sever ridicule and in his past often was the cause of his near death experiences. He was made a mockery of all his life, beaten and abused by many men who saw him as the devils child. His body was covered in the scars of whips and knives. And Christine knew these terrible actions had resulted in a sheer lack of confidence. The only time he felt he was really in power and accepted by people was when he was killing and putting fear into Opera goers as the mysterious "Phantom of the Opera". But Christine knew she could change him. She had the power before to change his mind - when their kiss was the action that set both she and Raoul free. Christine Daae was Eriks complete life and she knew that. Music was probably the only thing he loved more. She knew his weakness and even though she loved him. She was prepared to use them o get her own way. She had been cooped up in this lair for too long.

"No Christine!" Erik demanded, "I will not do it"

"Erik if we leave now we can be back within the hour. I know some-"

"No!" his voice boomed around the entire room. "I am not going up into the streets and out into public view. You know what will happen"

"you mean you think I know what YOU think will happen. Erik you haven't left this place in years. Times have changed."

Erik sat himself down on the sofa. 'Times have changed' he thought to himself 'what does she know?! She knows nothing about my time and little about her own. She has spent most of her life in the opera house. What does she know of the real world? It is a cruel and dangerous place with no mercy to man.'

Christine slowly came up to the sofa and sat beside her angry angel. She put a hand on his shoulder and felt him jolt at her touch. He was never used to affectionate touches, and time Christine made even the most modest of actions his heart went into over drive. How nice it was to be touched by a human who felt the love for him that no man ever did

"Erik, listen" She began, "I know a nice little place in the park. It's completely covered in trees and shrubs well out of anyone's view. I doubt if many people even know of it. I though...maybe...we could have a picnic?"

Erik sighed and sank deeper into the sofa, "Christine Daae I swear you will be the death of me" He looked over at the young girl and her large eyes met him. He knew he couldn't deny his angel anything, he would gladly die if she asked.

He sighed, "Fine Christine. But we cannot be out for more than two hours. I'm getting old I can't walk around the way I used to."

She squealed with excitement wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. "Oh Erik darling thank you!" she felt her angel melt in her arms as she put a gentle kiss to his deformed cheek. She has gotten used to seeing Erik without his mask. The first time she saw it she cannot deny she was frightened, but now she tends to forget he has any sort of deformity at all. To her he looks more handsome than any man in the world.

She stood up, fixing her dress and began to make her way towards the door "I'll make up a basket bow Erik and we can be away within the hour. Is there anything you would like"

"Bring some tea my dear if you would be so kind. The lemon stuff. Now your disgusting English tea you're so fond of."

Christine giggled as she left the room. Erik groaned and got up of the sofa 'Im getting too old for this' he said to himself as he made his way to his room, grabbed his mask, wig and cravat and left. Christine was already in the main room, putting on her shawl, a brown wicker basket sat on the table. "Ready?" She said cheerfully. Erik placed on his wig and mask and began fixing his cravat.

"Here let me help" Christine approached him and helped him fiddle with the fabric. Erik always had trouble putting it on if he wasn't in front of a mirror. She tucked the material into his jacket and put her hands on his face "Now you're perfect" She skipped off to grab the box and linked arms with her angel.

"Right so where are we going?" Erik questioned.

"The park on the Rue Fontaine. It's only a 10 minute walk from here."

"Oh great. Well then, can't let the tea get cold. Lets go" So then they both walked, arm in arm, out of the main room and towards the great lake, where the boat lay waiting on the still water.


	2. Chapter 2

The walk to the park had started Erik's day terribly. His patience was put to the test as he struggled to ignore the looks and remarks of passers-by staring and gawking at his mask. Christine walked tall alongside him, her hand in his. She was proud to be with Erik and you can bet on her life she was going to show it to the world. She continually stroked Erik's hand with her thumb and made an abundance of idle conversation such as 'I hope it doesn't rain today' and 'I'd love to visit the market and pick up some things' - anything to take Erik's mind away from the people who looked upon him with fear and curiosity.

At the same time Christine couldn't blame them. It wasn't every day they saw a man in a mask walking down the street she just wished they would be more subtle about it rather than blatantly shoving their face in front of him.

They arrived at the main gates of the park and Christine lead her angel down the main path to the fountain. From there dozens of paths circled it leading to different areas of the park. "isn't it lovely darling?" Christine said admiring the ornate fountain. It was about 30 feet tall, with mermaids and sea creatures and angels carved out of beautiful stone - several of which spurted water from their mouths into the clear pool which surrounded them. Erik merely grunted, keeping his head down. Christine sighed and patted his shoulder, "I'm sorry dear, I just thought you might like it."

"It's quite alright Christine. It is a lovely piece of work. Now, where are we going? I don't like to be here terribly long" Christine knew Erik was uncomfortable being in crowd of people. The park was unusually busy today. With mothers and their children. Husbands and their wives. Everyone make their passing glances, their eyes fixing upon the white porcelain mask.

"Yes sorry it's down this way" Christine lead them both down one of the paths away from the seething crowds. They followed a maze of pathways passing by hundreds of trees and flowers. The farther they went, the thicker the trees grew and the less people there were.

"Christine," Erik panted, his body getting tired, "How far away is this?"

"it's only around the corner and past a few trees" she skipped gleefully on while her angel struggled to keep up with her.

This comparison of fitness was one of the many things which worried Erik. Christine was young, with a bright future as an opera singer ahead of her. She was full of carefree youth and generally free spirited. Erik on the other hand, was ageing. At an age old enough to be her father he was starting to slow down. His body was tired. Tired from all the work. Tired from the past. How long was it before he went? 2 years. 8 years. How long did he have with his angel before he turned her into the Phantoms widow? Until he left her with a small fortune, a feeble house left in darkness and a memory.

"It's just over here" she said, pulling him through a bush into a small clearing. Hidden behind the trees was an area of green meadow covered with white daisy's and yellow buttercups. Around by the trees the sun shone in at different angels, creating little heavenly patches among the flowers.

Christine walked over to a tree and set the basket down. From it she took a blanket and set it down, sitting on top of it. Erik followed her and did the same.

"How on earth did you find this place?" he asked curiously.

"Meg and I found it back when we were children" she began to take out plates and wrapped sandwiches and set them on the blanket "we got lost one day out here and stumbled upon it by accident. We used to spend all day here in the summer."

Christine took out cups and handed one to Erik. "Does anyone else know of this place?" he asked curiously. What if she brought him here. Sat him down on this very spot and had a 'picnic' with him.

"No one that I know of. Just me and Meg. It felt magical. As selfish as it is, we didn't want to share it with anyone else" She looked at the frown on Erik's face, "Hey now" she scooted closer to him, "cheer up dear. What's with the glum look?"

He shook his head and tried to make his face look more cheery, "Hmmm? Oh nothing. I was just thinking." wanting to change the subject he brought his attention to the sandwiches sitting in neat piles on the blanket. "Well we best get tucked in." He reached over and grabbed the first sandwich he saw. Cheese and tomato. Christine's food was always plain and simple. From her youth her and her father ate what they had and what they couldn't afford. There was no need for fancy foods. Erik though liked his comfort. His food was always exotic and came with a 5 star rating. Any time they ate out it was always in some overly fancy restaurant and had a check to prove it.

Christine took the flasks of tea and poured him a cup of his favourite lemon tea. She never made it quite to his liking, but he drank it anyway. Anything she made was perfect. They ate their way through the food and snacks until they could eat no more. Taking off his jacket, Erik rolled it up and propped himself against the tree. Christine sat beside his legs as she started making a daisy chain. The sun was shining down on then and he didn't even realise he had fallen asleep until Christine's giggles woke him up.

"hmm, what what?!" he jolted upright as he saw Christine on the ground laughing her head off. "What is it?!" he said puzzled as Christies small hand pointed to him. He reached up and felt his head. Upon his hair was a crown of daises. Then he felt something round his neck. More daisies. He looked down to see his whole body covered in strands of daisy chains. "You little vixen" he said loudly as he began to stand up. Christine giggle more and began to run away from him. He started to jog after her, "Christine Daae you get back here right now!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" He ran after her in zig zags all across the meadow until she began to slow down, tired from all the running. He sprinted up to her grabbing her arm. As she pulled away he went with her, losing his footing pulled her down with him. Lying on top of him she laughed as they got their breath back. He really was getting too old for these childish games. He lay there panting while Christine rolled round to look at him. Her soft delicate hands lying gently on his chest. "You okay Erik?"

As his breath returned to him he reached over and began to stroke her hair as she rested her head upon him. "Yes my dear. Just a bit tired. These old bones aren't what they used to be"

He felt Christine laugh at this, "You're not that old Erik"

"I wish I wasn't" he sighed, "Life has aged me terribly. I blame all that time I spend in Persia."

Christine looked up at him. He has never told her much about his past. He kept it much to himself and there's no blaming him. From what she gathered it wasn't the most pleasant of times.

"Persia?" Christine questioned, "You were in Persia? Why?"

Erik hesitated for a moment. His past was his private matters. Was he really about to give this child an insight to the wicked life he once lead?

"Well" he shifted, trying to spread the weight of Christine across his body more comfortably "Back many years ago I was asked to work for the Shah of Persia. When I was traveling, Nadir found me - you've met Nadir before right? The Persian man who spending his time wandering about the opera?- yes well he was, let's say, their head police chief, the daroga. And he was asked by the Shah to find me. And he did. So he brought me back to Persia with him, and there I was to work for several years."

"What kind of work?"

"Building mostly" he replied, "The Shahs mother was very much into her tortured entertainment, so she had me make torture chambers and traps for her amusement."

Christine gasped. Torture chambers! She knew Erik sometimes liked the whole killing facade but she never thought he would build something so, so murderous.  
Erik laughed at her expression. "Relax Christine dear. I never did approve of a lot of them. Most of the time I built them to keep myself alive. The shah and his mother were the most powerful people in Persia. There was no crossing them unless you were wanting a death penalty.

"But that wasn't the only things I did in Persia. I also helped protect the Shah himself. When there was rumours of his assassination, he had me plan and build out hidden passage ways and tunnels and hidden rooms for his protection."

Christine just sat there mesmerised. It was the first time he had ever opened up to her about his life and she was ever so eager to find out more "So what happened after that? Did the shah just finish with you and send you away?"

"Not quite," he chuckled, "When I told him I was leaving, he thought I knew too much. And as superstitious people go he was the best. So he had Nadir arrest me and put me down for death."

He heard Christine gasp. The colour left her face as she heard this.

"He failed, naturally. Or else I wouldn't be here. Fortunately Nadir and myself became quite good aquanentces, he helped me escape from Persia and from there I travelled back to Rome where I had spent a good few years of my youth."

"and Nadir," Christine questioned, "how did he come to live near the opera house?"

"Hah. Well. After he helped me leave Persia, he look left as the shah and ordered his death too. Naturally he went travelling. When he reached Paris and heard the commotions of the 'phantom of the opera' he became curious and decided to investigate. Little did he know he would find me and I him. Since then. He had been on the watch for me even since. He's a nice man Nadir. I cherish him. He's been one of the few men who has ever shown me friendship."

There was a silence as Christine lay and took all this information in. She was eager to learn more but thought it might be best for another day. She rolled off Erik's chest and lay with her back on the grass facing the clouds. Silence overcame them for a few minutes - both unsure of what to say. Until Christine sat up and looked at her angel.

"Erik" she began, "Thank you for coming out with me today. I'm glad it happened."

"Yes, I'm glad we did this Christine." he replied, sitting up beside her. "It's not often I leave the opera house. It was a pleasant change."

Christine examined her angels face for a brief moment. His eyes seemed genuinely happy. A small smile was sitting gently on his face. But then she looked at the mask. He had kept it on the whole day. Most of the time he took it off to eat. It bothered him occasionally while he was drinking. Yet he never complained once. But that was Erik - so determined to keep Christine content he didn't care about himself.

Christine scooted closer to him, and placed her hand gently on the mask, "you've kept it on all day. Even when you were eating. Erik I'm so sorry I should have noticed I-"  
"Christine please. It's fine" he cut her off, "We are in a public place. I-I don't want anyone seeing me."

Christine sighed and placed her other hand on his free cheek, moving up to kiss his forehead. "Erik there is no one about. There hasn't been for the entire time we've been here."

"Yes, but you can't prove that someone won't arrive in the near future. Or that someone hasn't seen us from a distance." Christine knew Erik was vexing, but her touch seemed to relax him. There was something inside Christine determined to show Erik he was safe without his mask. She stroked his cheek while her other hand began to lift the mask away from his skin. Erik's hands shot up in protest. "Christin-" he was cut off by the young girls stern look and the hand which was placed firmly on his shoulder. She lifted the mask right off the side of his face and set it on the grass.

Erik's hands flailed up as he tried to cover his face, but Christine remained silent, gave him a stern look and took his hands placing them at his sides. Then she reached up and touched both of his cheeks gently. Erik couldn't help but stare back, his eyes filled with sensation and fear. But as Christine's lips touched his, all the worries he had about others seeing him melted away. Gently he returned the kiss smiling as he did so. Christine is the only woman Erik has ever touched. In all his life the only thing he wished for was to love and be loved in return, but due to his face he was denied this. Even Giovanni's daughter who showed him great affection couldn't handle what was under the mask - she literally died of fright. But now Christine looked upon him without fear, without disgust - like a normal human being.

After what seemed like an eternity Christine broke away from Erik and smiled. "See" she remarked, "You're fine without the mask Erik."

Erik reached out and stroked her hair, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear, "And as fine as I am my dear, I am still quite conscious. Forgive me but I do wish to put it back on. It's just a habit really. I don't feel comfortable with it off. Just in case"

Frowning Christine gave his mask back to him. And as he put it back over his face he looked to her and said "Why the frown my dear? It's not often you see me with my mask on. How often do I wear it around the house?!"

"Hmmph," she murmured in reply, "I guess so. But I hate the fact you're afraid to take it off. Even when no one is near."

"Ah Christine. It is others who are afraid of me. I'd be over the moon not to wear it but you know what people are like."

Christine couldn't argue. It's his life. He knows the pros and cons of the mask and there really wasn't anything she could do to change his mind.

"Well, I don't know what it's like to e you Erik. So I really can't say anything."

She stood up fixing the creases on her skirt. "What time is it? I think we've been here far longer than an hour."

Erik completely forgot about the time. He made himself strict instructions that he was to be hone within an hour. Looking down at the watch he noticed that it was almost half past four. They had been out for over 3 hours. "I think it's time we went back. It's getting late." Christine held out her hand and helped him to his feet. Not letting do until they returned to the tree where they had placed their belongings. It took them less that 5 minutes to get the basket repacked and they were back on the main paths in the park in another 10.

"Thank you Erik. For today," Christine said timidly.

"Any time my dear. I do apologise for being such a hassle this morning."

"Oh it's quite alright" she smiled squeezing his hand. They reached the fountain at the main path.

"I'd still like to visit that Market though and get some stuff for supper" Erik smiled and laughed to himself, "Oh alright. But make it quick."

"Now monsieur," came an oh so familiar voice from behind them, "You cannot rush a lady"

Christine stopped dead in her tracks. She spun round in horror at the slurring voice and looked at the blonde haired man standing just a few yards behind them "Raoul!"

"Good afternoon, Little Lottie"

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on fanfiction.net but I don't have access to that account anymore so it's taking me a while to move everything over. x
> 
> I wrote this like 2 years ago and my writing skills have not improved one bit. Chapter 2 to follow.


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